The Political Landscape:

Irvine Councilwoman Beth Krom will continue her bid for U.S. Rep. John Campbell’s 48th District seat, after the sudden death of her 22-year-old son, her campaign manager has announced.

“Beth is committed to the ongoing success of this campaign,” Krom’s campaign manager, Melahat Rafiei, said in a recent e-mail.

Noah Krom, who apparently fell to his death from a cliff in Isla Vista earlier this month, was one week shy of graduating from UC Santa Barbara at the time of his death.

Beachgoers found his body at the base of a cliff June 6.

Abby and Hershel Krom recently accepted a posthumously awarded degree in business economics at UC Santa Barbara on their brother’s behalf.

Beth Krom announced a goal of raising $250,000 by Tuesday earlier this year.

Councilwoman credits city manager for budget

Newport Beach Councilwoman Leslie Daigle credited City Manager Homer Bludau for keeping the city budget balanced in a year with fickle sales and property tax revenue projections.

“The city manager presented us with a balanced budget — it’s really a tribute to his administrative skills,” Daigle said.

To keep the budget balanced, Newport Beach slashed city department budgets by 2% and reduced spending on capital fund projects by 2%, resulting in a savings of about $5 million.

City officials expect property-tax revenue to grow by only 2% in the next budget year, or from $55.8 million to $56.9 million.

Historically, property-tax revenues have grown by about 6% to 8% yearly, but property values have been trending downward.

The city also budgeted $20.2 million for sluggish sales tax revenues in the coming year, compared with $19.8 million last year.

“Now I can retire a happy man,” Bludau said after the city passed its more than $200 million annual budget on Tuesday night.